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Tips on introducing your partner to your friends

While introducing your SO to your friends, there is bound to be some amount of tension involved. There are many things on your mind such as whether your friends and your partner would get along, whether they would like and approve of one another etc. Here are a few tips to increase the chances of the meeting going well.

Find the right time: Gauging the right time to introduce him to your friends is crucial. Are you serious enough about each other to introduce him to them?

Give them background: Talk to your friends about your partner, what he does, who he is, a little bit about his likes, dislikes and beliefs etc. and vice versa. Along with preparing them for who they’re about to meet, this will put them at ease.

Avoid trouble: If you feel like something about your friends might make your partner feel uncomfortable or vice versa, a gentle heads up would help. Also, remind them to not bring up any off-limit topics that either of the parties may not be comfortable talking about.

Pay attention to details: The first time your friends and SO are meeting, make sure you have everything planned, right from the place and how you all get there to how the bill is going to be settled. This helps avoid any awkwardness later. Keep the preferences of both parties in mind, while planning.

Pick the right place: It’s better not to go for a formal dinner or treat it like a big day. Take the pressure off the introduction, pick a casual place and if the questions get too much, ease the conversation with a topic that engages both parties.

Introduce an activity: Engaging your partner and friends in an activity in the course of the evening could cut out any silences, if they arise, and let them get to know one another comfortably. If it’s a get-together at your house, you could introduce games. Or pick a place with an activity like bowling, or a laidback café with board games.

Pick a few conversation topics: Being the one common link between the two sides, you know the likes and dislikes of both, your friends and partner. Find topics that they could talk about based on any common interests such as sports or investments.

Don’t make anyone feel left out: To make sure that neither party feels left out at any given point, be careful enough to avoid too many insider jokes and references. If any come up, make sure you provide the context for those.

Avoid too much PDA: While your friends understand how much you both like or love each other, they don’t have to see it all the time. Holding hands is fine but avoid kissing or doing anything that could make your friends uncomfortable.

Drinks: Bonding over drinks is a good idea, but make sure nobody ends up embarrassing themselves, or saying or doing something in a drunken state that offends anyone. It would be better to have only as many drinks as one can hold.